Trainer Marcus Vitali received a stay from the Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission of an eviction notice by Parx Racing and will be permitted to run the horse Eagle of Delight at the suburban Philadelphia racetrack on Saturday.

Vitali, who was denied stalls and whose entries were banned at Gulfstream Park and other tracks owned by The Stronach Group tracks last year, attempted to enter Eagle of Delight at Parx Racing Nov. 18, 2016. The entry was refused by the track's director of racing and racing secretary, Sam Elliott. Vitali, through attorney Alan Pincus, sought a hearing on the matter, but that request was denied by Tom Chuckas, Thoroughbred Bureau Director of the Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission, on the basis that denial of entries is not governed by Section 9326 of the Pennsylvania Racing Act.

Vitali then sued both Elliott and Chuckas in federal court in December, saying that Vitali's due process rights under Pennsylvania law were being violated.

Attorneys for Elliott and Vitali reached an agreement in January, whereby Parx would issue an ejection letter to Vitali and the lawsuit subsequently was dismissed. Elliott said the ejection was based on what he alleged as conduct “detrimental to racing.”

Vitali sought and received a stay of that ejection from the Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission, forcing Parx to accept his entries, pending a hearing in front of the commission.

AUBURN, Wash. (February 22) – Jim Penney, a charter member of the Washington Racing Hall of Fame who saddled a record five Longacres Mile winners, died Tuesday at his home in Edgewood.

Penney, who ranked at or near the top of every major training category at Emerald Downs, Longacres and Yakima Meadows, was 82 years old.

According to son-in-law Bryson Cooper, Penney had been in ill health for several months before his situation deteriorated rapidly in recent days. Penney, who wore a pacemaker and was diabetic, had had been in and out of hospice care.

“Luckily he didn’t suffer,” Cooper said. “His body just shut down.”

As a jockey, Cooper notched his biggest win aboard Theologist for his father-in-law in the 1977 Longacres Mile.

“He left no stone unturned,” Cooper said. “He was on top of every little problem, knew everything about all of his horses.

“He was more than a trainer,” Cooper added. “Jim was involved with the sport and cared about it, serving as president of the HBPA, and he was respected by his peers.”

At Emerald Downs, Penney ranks No. 2 in wins (662), stakes wins (50) and earnings ($8,831,653) while at Longacres he tied for fifth with 39 stakes wins and was leading trainer in 1968. At Yakima Meadows, Penney ranked No. 1 in wins (490) and amassed a record 17 training titles.

Born July 4, 1934 in Portland, Ore., Penney grew up in Naches, Wash., where his grandfather A.E. Penney and father A.J. Penney laid the foundation for one of Washington’s greatest racing dynasties. The black and white silks of Penney Farms (later Homestretch Farms) are synonymous with success in west coast racing, with Penney sending out winners at Bay Meadows, Golden Gate, Tanforan, Turf Paradise, Santa Anita, Hollywood Park, Del Mar and Exhibition Park (Hastings Racecourse).

Penney began training in 1957 and won 2,154 races and nearly $20 million in purses. In addition to Theologist, Penney won the Longacres Mile with Silver Mallet (1973), Edneator (2000), Sabertooth (2002) and Flamethrowintexan (2006). A Homestretch Farms homebred, Edneator raced gate-to-wire under Gallyn Mitchell and paid a then record $85.20 to win.

Stewart Elliott, best known as the regular rider for 2004 dual classic winner and champion Smarty Jones , was selected by a nationwide vote of his peers as the winner of the 2017 George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award.

A dominant force for years in the Mid-Atlantic region, Elliott, 51, shifted his tack on a full-time basis to Southern California in 2016 and has established himself on the circuit.

Trainer Jamie Ness, who has finished atop the Tampa Bay Downs standings nine times during his career, will serve a 100-day suspension and pay a $4,800 fine in a settlement with Florida that resolves a dozen post-race test positives for the bronchodilator Clenbuterol dating from December 2012-March 2014.